Pro-Palestine protesters battled with supporters of Israel for the second straight day in Manhattan on Monday — trading threats of violence such as, “We gotta kill them all!’’ with, “They all need to die now!”
As Israel continued to pummel Palestinian-held territory in the Gaza Strip in retaliation for devastating, deadly, weekend attacks on the Jewish state by Hamas terrorists, hundreds of ralliers on both sides of the emerging war clashed outside the Israeli Consulate just a block west of the United Nations headquarters in Midtown.
“We gotta kill them all! We’re going to kill them all! You better leave our country! You better get out of there!” a Palestinian supporter yelled at the top of his lungs.
That incendiary rhetoric was countered by Israeli supporters who called demonstrators “terrorists” and vulgar terms.
“They all need to die now!” a male pro-Israel protester yelled back at the Palestinian supporters. “We need to protect Jews here and in America!”
Another man who only gave his first name, Jesse, 45, of Nolita said he believes that Hamas is simply defending Israeli-occupied Palestine, insisting, “Fighting back isn’t terrorism.
“They’re not just occupying. They’re controlling, they’re murdering. They’re bulldozing schools. They’re filling wells with cement.” he said of Israel.
“They have every right to fight back” he said of Hamas as he brandished a sign reading, “End aid to racist Israel.”
“You cannot compare. It’s like comparing what the slaves did to get out of slavery,” said the man of both sides.
But Karen Lichtbraun — a 60-something Jewish city resident who leads Yad Yamin New York, where members “encourage Jewish self-defense” — said, “We can’t afford to be bystanders.
“They are bombing our homeland,” she said of Israel’s enemies.
“They’ve kidnapped our people. They’re torturing our people. They’ve invaded our homes. They’re dragging our women through the streets. They’re grabbing children directly our of their mothers’ arms,” she said.
“There’s nothing pro-Palestine about it,” she said of Hamas. “They’re terrorists.
“They just committed war crimes,” she added, comparing the group to the Nazis.
Lichtbraun said she was aware that she and other protesters might face violence but vowed to “stand our ground.”
John McGuigan, 58 of Westfield, NJ, attended the rally in solidarity with Lichtbraun.
“I think it’s disgusting. I think Hamas are a bunch of murderers.” McGuigan said of the pro-Palestine protesters.
“I don’t believe the Palestinians are being mistreated in any way. I don’t understand why they don’t just leave for another Muslim country. I don’t get it.”
“This wouldn’t be going on if [former President Donald] Trump were in the White House right now because they feared him,” he said of Hamas. “This is only going on because [President Joe] Biden is a weak leader.”
As the demonstrators headed over to Third Avenue and marched north, many ignored NYPD motorcycles strategically parked to encourage them not to walk on the street as they blocked traffic.
There were more than three dozen cops at Monday’s protest, where an NYPD boss was overheard telling a uniformed officer that a key component of maintaining crowd control was “faking s–t and looking smart.You know, you line up shoulder to shoulder, and it looks sharp,” the white shirt-wearing supervisor explained.
The pro-Palestinian protesters stopped outside the Egyptian Consulate and chanted, “Shame on you!” after reports that the country that borders Gaza was attempting to serve as an intermediary and prevent further escalation between the warring factions.
A young pro-Israel supporter who was yelling, “Death to Hamas!” into a megaphone was urged to, “Please stop” by a nearby woman.
“You’re making us look psychotic,” the nearby woman said.
But the male protester shot back, “That liberal … s–t needs to stop now.”
Dr. Anika Cooper, 66, has duel citizenship with Israel and US and has lived in both places, was walking by the Israeli consulate and accidentally stumbled upon the dueling rallies.
“I wanted to go shopping. I went for lunch, but on the phone, it didn’t tell me what’s going on.” Cooper said.
“I was thinking I hope and pray nobody dies. That people stay peaceful,” she added, worrying she might be targeted because of her “Middle Eastern face.
“The Israelis and the Jewish people hate Hamas— not Muslims. As an Israeli, I can say we have no qualms with Islam.” Cooper said.
“It’s very important we understand this is not the Muslim people doing this. This is a fringe organization, and the crimes they’ve committed on Saturday and going forward are heinous, and the world needs to take note of this and take some type of action.”
The demonstration was one of several nationwide sponsored by Within Our Lifetime, Samidoun, CUNY School of Law Students for Justice in Palestine, Decolonize This Place, Existence Is Resistance and CUNY for Palestine, according to the Answer Coalition.
It came after pro-Palestine demonstrators stomped, ripped and burned an Israeli flag during a Sunday Times Square rally organized by the Democratic Socialists of America, that was slammed as “abhorrent” and hateful by Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams, both moderate Democrats.